Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to wireless communications; and more particularly, to methods for finding direction of a signal using an active multi-mode antenna.
Description of the Related Art
As new generations of wireless communication devices become smaller and embedded with increased applications, new antenna designs, system configurations and controlling algorithms are required to enable new capabilities and to improve QOS. For example, geolocation is a function to identify the geographic location of a mobile device, such as a cellular phone, a smart phone, a laptop, a tablet, an internet-connected computer terminal and other wireless communication device. These devices are expected to incorporate the location-determining function because of emergency “911” services, public safety and law enforcement concerns. Furthermore, in the emerging vehicle-to-vehicle communication protocols, the location-determining function enables one car to steer the communication signal following the movement of the other car, thereby improving the quality of the communication link and reducing electromagnetic interferences. Such geolocation or location-determining functions can be achieved by configuring an antenna system to find the direction of RF signals.
Direction finding, a.k.a. the angel of arrival (AOA) estimation, generally refers to a method of determining the direction of arrival of incoming signals, and plays an important role in spectrum monitoring as well as in reconnaissance and surveillance applications. Typically, the direction finding utilizes an array of antennas that detect incoming RF signals, wherein phase and amplitude information is correlated to calculate the direction of arrival of the signals. In such a conventional direction finding system, one receiver is provided for each antenna, in particular when high resolution is needed in situations where multipath interferences or co-channel signals exist. This configuration allows for continuous sampling of information received by each antenna. However, the drawback is that it is costly and requisite of a large space to provide multiple antennas and receive chains. As is typically the case when a multi-antenna system is used, electromagnetic coupling among the antennas as well as between the antennas and nearby electronics often deteriorates transmission and reception qualities. Additionally, efficiency may deteriorate in many instances where multiple RF chains are energized and power consumption increases.